working at a pet supply/ food store i constantly see people treating their dogs health with more attention then their own.
i find it amusing that it takes one's dog getting sick to bring to light such examples of our lack of respect for our own health / the environment.

unfortunelty the same can be said for customers that spit out the line "its just a dog"

I just wanted to add a recipe for making your own laundry detergent on here for those of you who are interested. I haven't made this yet, I just snagged it from another site.

Here’s what you need:1 bar of soap, I use Dr. Bronner's Castile because it's vegan1 box of washing soda. I use Arm & Hammer, and it's in the laundry section of my local co-op1 box of borax - Optional, gives your detergent the cleaning power of store-bought stuff. 20 Mule Team is the brand.1 five gallon bucket with a lid, found at a hardware store4 cups hot tap water in a pot for heating on the stove3 gallons of hot tap water1 big spoon to stir the mixture with1 measuring cup1 knife, or a food processor

Fill your bucket with 3 gallons of hot tap water. Mark a line on the outside of the bucket where the water level is--that way the next time you make detergent, you don't have to measure it out.

Put your pan with 4 cups of hot water on the stove. Turn the heat to low/medium low. Using the shredding attachment of your food processor, shred your bar of soap. Then put the regular blade in and grind it as fine as possible. Add this to the pot of hot water. Give it a stir, then go do something for 15 minutes or so. Just make sure the water won't start to boil while you're away. Come back and stir, making sure the soap has completely dissolved.

(You can also whittle the soap with a knife, but this takes longer and my wrist hurt a bunch after I did it the first time. The food processor is way easier, and it's just soap, so it'll be extra clean when you're done!)

Add dissolved soap to your bucket of water. Mix well with a large wooden spoon. Add 1 cup of washing soda and 1/2 to 1 cup of borax, if using. Mix VERY well. I put on a song and just stir until it's over.

Place lid on your bucket let it stand overnight to cool. The next day you should have a lumpy, goopy gel that is your laundry detergent!

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You might want to write these directions in permanent marker on the actual bucket, so you don't have to look up the details again when you need to make another batch.

One batch of this stuff lasts us two months, but I don't do laundry as much as I should. It's WAY cheaper than store-bought, easy to make, and there's less waste from packaging. Just save your last laundry detergent bottle that you bought and keep refilling that so you don't have to dip into the huge bucket every time.

One box of washing soda should make 6 batches of detergent, and the box of borax will make more than that. You can use any kind of soap that you want, but I make sure I use castile soap because then I know it's vegan. You can pick scented soaps to give your laundry a clean, fresh scent. I like the lavender or the lemon the best!

3. Clean your counters, table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leavea fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe, or sprayit on the counters-Truth!

4. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it tokill salmonella and other bacteria-Truth!

I spray it in the beasts bowls after they eat and it eats up the raw meat and then I rinse and wash in hot soapy water. I also use it to clean my cutting boards.

It works awesome on glass too!! 98 cents a 32 oz bottle at Walmart. Sprayers from any other household cleaner fit in the bottle the peroxide comes in. You don't want to put it in a clear or open container as it degrades when exposed to light. So far I have had nothing (counter top, wood, fabric) get bleached out from using it and it doesn't smell.

Do the essential oils you add to these mixtures serve any purposes other than making them smell good? I have two cats and a dog, so the tea tree, orange, and lemon are out of the question. Are all essential oils bad for my animals/three year old? Aside from this point, I love this entire thread. Green cleaners get so expensive, I definitely want to try these out.

Those are essential oils so to use in cleaning products, it's 1-2 drops in a large bottle. It becomes harmful in straight quantities and especially when ingested. They are not to be used undiluted and they are not food.

Coconut oil is a food oil - like corn oil, peanut, olive, etc. It's meant to be fed to your dog and you can also use it as a skin rub.

Those are essential oils so to use in cleaning products, it's 1-2 drops in a large bottle. It becomes harmful in straight quantities and especially when ingested. They are not to be used undiluted and they are not food.

Coconut oil is a food oil - like corn oil, peanut, olive, etc. It's meant to be fed to your dog and you can also use it as a skin rub.

So they are OK to use in the cleaning products (on the floor, for example, or on blankets the cats/dog lay on) if in small quantities and diluted in the product?

Can coconut oil be used in the cleaning products for the scent and be safe and not effect the cleaning product and still being safe for the animals, since it is safe for them to ingest?

Those are essential oils so to use in cleaning products, it's 1-2 drops in a large bottle. It becomes harmful in straight quantities and especially when ingested. They are not to be used undiluted and they are not food.

Coconut oil is a food oil - like corn oil, peanut, olive, etc. It's meant to be fed to your dog and you can also use it as a skin rub.

So they are OK to use in the cleaning products (on the floor, for example, or on blankets the cats/dog lay on) if in small quantities and diluted in the product?

Can coconut oil be used in the cleaning products for the scent and be safe and not effect the cleaning product and still being safe for the animals, since it is safe for them to ingest?

Yes. They are fine as 1-2 drops in the bottle of home-made cleaners. As you can read in the Wikipedia link below, they can be harmful un-diluted. I use it around my cats though I am careful to only add 1-2 drops of the oil in my spray bottle.

Have you ever seen coconut oil? It's not a cleaning product. It's an oil for eating.

thanks for the ideas and the links, I also heard vinegar. The thing is though, I thought Borax was poisonous to animals? (case in point when my grams had an ant problem I sprinkled it around and the ants died pretty fast, if you use it as a cleaner, and its supposed to be sweet smelling, couldn't that make my dog try and lick it?

concreterose wrote:Yep, we don't use anything antibacterial anymore either! I use vinegar and hot water to clean the floor. I add some lemon oil to the vinegar and it really cuts the vinegar smell. It makes the floor so shiny!

I am definitely going to look into the books and try the natural solutions since I have noticed my dog has been scratching a lot! He has scabbing in the base of both ears, by the corner of his mouth and eyelid from all the scratching. Never had any allergies or skin problems with my last dog of 13 years and now with my new guy (6 months), there are so many new things. Thanks for posting this info!